You are correct, and as far as I know, that student eventually got his ticket. I agree: why land at a large airport in general? If I see lots of concrete and I didn't expect it and I don't know the CTAF/TWR frequency, then I'm outta there! But then, we all know the scope of human diversity, and we all know that students sometimes behave in unpredictable ways. I know I did, once, and lived to tell, thanks to an alert instructor.